Todd Zwillich
@toddzwillich.bsky.social
Journalism in Washington, often heard hosting 1A on NPR. Former host of The Takeaway from WNYC and "Breaking the Vote" @ Vice News.
"Like Trump, some of the most prominent players on the American right have talked openly about Orbán providing a blueprint for a Christian nationalist takeover of the federal government." www.msnbc.com/news/news-an...
What Trump learned from Hungary
The president has long praised Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as a model strongman.
www.msnbc.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:03 PM
"Like Trump, some of the most prominent players on the American right have talked openly about Orbán providing a blueprint for a Christian nationalist takeover of the federal government." www.msnbc.com/news/news-an...
Rhodes amassed weapons to use on Jan 6 and was convicted of seditious conspiracy. Trump freed him from prison. Now, using Trump’s “invasion” rhetoric, Rhodes urges Trump to use his militia as a private army. www.rawstory.com/amp/stewart-...
Convicted Oath Keepers' founder announces militia's relaunch to enforce Trump orders
www.rawstory.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Rhodes amassed weapons to use on Jan 6 and was convicted of seditious conspiracy. Trump freed him from prison. Now, using Trump’s “invasion” rhetoric, Rhodes urges Trump to use his militia as a private army. www.rawstory.com/amp/stewart-...
Reposted by Todd Zwillich
Had a lot of fun on @the1a.org with @jwhitepubradio.bsky.social and @toddzwillich.bsky.social. A productive conversation. the1a.org/segments/if-...
If You Can Keep It: The fight over funding the government
It happens every year — sometimes even more frequently than that.
the1a.org
September 22, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Had a lot of fun on @the1a.org with @jwhitepubradio.bsky.social and @toddzwillich.bsky.social. A productive conversation. the1a.org/segments/if-...
Reposted by Todd Zwillich
The GOP said its overhaul of Medicaid was aimed at reducing fraud and getting more adult beneficiaries to work. Among the likely side effects: fewer services and doctors for treating sick children.
Trump's Medicaid cuts will hurt children's hospitals
The GOP said its overhaul of Medicaid was aimed at reducing fraud and getting more adult beneficiaries to work. Among the likely side effects: fewer services and doctors for treating sick children.
n.pr
September 9, 2025 at 11:39 AM
The GOP said its overhaul of Medicaid was aimed at reducing fraud and getting more adult beneficiaries to work. Among the likely side effects: fewer services and doctors for treating sick children.
Kudos to @brianbeutler.bsky.social, somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/o...
Opinion | Stop Acting Like This Is Normal
www.nytimes.com
September 8, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Kudos to @brianbeutler.bsky.social, somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/o...
Trump was absent from public view for a week. We still don't know why. Everyone's missing the story, and it's nuts. 🧵
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/u...
President Trump Is Alive. The Internet Was Convinced Otherwise.
www.nytimes.com
September 4, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Trump was absent from public view for a week. We still don't know why. Everyone's missing the story, and it's nuts. 🧵
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/u...
Reposted by Todd Zwillich
NEWS: ICE's Chantilly office is a "black box" where conditions are increasingly dire, attorneys & a relative of person detained tell @msnbc.com
- 1 meal a day = a single burrito
- some 40-90 ppl crammed into room, sleeping on concrete
- Some held as long as 7 days
www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/v...
- 1 meal a day = a single burrito
- some 40-90 ppl crammed into room, sleeping on concrete
- Some held as long as 7 days
www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/v...
Inside a Virginia ICE office: One meal a day, 40 people in a room and no bathing for days
"The situation is getting worse by the day," warns Amy Fischer, an organizer with Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid. "It is an office; it is not intended to detain people."
www.msnbc.com
August 29, 2025 at 3:38 PM
NEWS: ICE's Chantilly office is a "black box" where conditions are increasingly dire, attorneys & a relative of person detained tell @msnbc.com
- 1 meal a day = a single burrito
- some 40-90 ppl crammed into room, sleeping on concrete
- Some held as long as 7 days
www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/v...
- 1 meal a day = a single burrito
- some 40-90 ppl crammed into room, sleeping on concrete
- Some held as long as 7 days
www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/v...
“‘Terrorizing the workforce’ is a phrase I heard a lot this week. And that may indeed be the point.”
This may be remembered as the week Trump’s campaign against the “deep state” kicked into high gear, @shaneharris.bsky.social reports. Intelligence professionals he spoke with told him something fundamental had shifted in their historically apolitical work.
The Bolton Raid Feels Like a Warning
In just one week, the administration has targeted dozens of its perceived critics, leaving national security officials angry and afraid.
bit.ly
August 23, 2025 at 12:23 AM
“‘Terrorizing the workforce’ is a phrase I heard a lot this week. And that may indeed be the point.”
Reposted by Todd Zwillich
The letter, for Epstein's birthday, includes a message depicting a fake exchange between Trump and Epstein: "Enigmas never age" "wonderful secret."www.wsj.com/politics/tru...
July 17, 2025 at 10:57 PM
The letter, for Epstein's birthday, includes a message depicting a fake exchange between Trump and Epstein: "Enigmas never age" "wonderful secret."www.wsj.com/politics/tru...
Reposted by Todd Zwillich
No mention of Trump’s “Shylock” slur in this NY Times article about his “victory lap” speech in Iowa.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/03/u...
In Iowa, Trump Begins Task of Selling His Bill to the American Public
www.nytimes.com
July 4, 2025 at 10:54 AM
No mention of Trump’s “Shylock” slur in this NY Times article about his “victory lap” speech in Iowa.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/03/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/03/u...
Reposted by Todd Zwillich
Minutes after we published this article, Sean Hannity removed a video from his Instagram account that falsely claimed to show an explosion at the Fordow nuclear facility in Iran.
The post had been up since Saturday night and viewed over 5 million times
www.wired.com/story/donald...
The post had been up since Saturday night and viewed over 5 million times
www.wired.com/story/donald...
Donald Trump and Sean Hannity Set Off a Wave of Disinformation After Iran Bombing
Trumpworld has been trying to spin the US military’s bombing of Iran as a complete and total victory, even as independent experts and MAGA loyalists object.
www.wired.com
June 23, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Minutes after we published this article, Sean Hannity removed a video from his Instagram account that falsely claimed to show an explosion at the Fordow nuclear facility in Iran.
The post had been up since Saturday night and viewed over 5 million times
www.wired.com/story/donald...
The post had been up since Saturday night and viewed over 5 million times
www.wired.com/story/donald...
Trump chooses the timing of salient announcements like this. This one obv has the added effect of pushing down tonight’s cable coverage of embarrassing developments like Elon Musk’s “kill the bill” and escalation in Russia.
Breaking - Trump signs travel ban.
“The ban will fully restrict entry of nationals from 12 countries: Afghanistan; Myanmar, also known as Burma; Chad; Republic of the Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Haiti; Iran; Libya; Somalia; Sudan; and Yemen.”
www.cnn.com/2025/06/04/p...
“The ban will fully restrict entry of nationals from 12 countries: Afghanistan; Myanmar, also known as Burma; Chad; Republic of the Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Haiti; Iran; Libya; Somalia; Sudan; and Yemen.”
www.cnn.com/2025/06/04/p...
Trump signed proclamation to ban travel from several countries, sources say | CNN Politics
Trump signed a proclamation to ban travel from several countries this evening, citing security risks, two sources familiar told CNN.
www.cnn.com
June 5, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Trump chooses the timing of salient announcements like this. This one obv has the added effect of pushing down tonight’s cable coverage of embarrassing developments like Elon Musk’s “kill the bill” and escalation in Russia.
Reposted by Todd Zwillich
NEW: In the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case, Judge Xinis grants the plaintiff’s request to file a motion for sanctions.
Motion due June 11.
Motion due June 11.
June 4, 2025 at 2:10 PM
NEW: In the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case, Judge Xinis grants the plaintiff’s request to file a motion for sanctions.
Motion due June 11.
Motion due June 11.
New from me, still filling in at @brianbeutler.bsky.social's Off message: A user's guide to Trump's budget bill in the Senate: Medicaid, the parliamentarian, WH disinfo and what's at stake for the future of the GOP. open.substack.com/pub/brianbeu...
The abomination squad
How Elon Musk learned to start worrying and hate the GOP budget bill
open.substack.com
June 4, 2025 at 3:22 PM
New from me, still filling in at @brianbeutler.bsky.social's Off message: A user's guide to Trump's budget bill in the Senate: Medicaid, the parliamentarian, WH disinfo and what's at stake for the future of the GOP. open.substack.com/pub/brianbeu...
Reposted by Todd Zwillich
Between this and the Venezuelan TPS ruling, #SCOTUS has now cleared the way for removing more than one million non-citizens who, until now, were *legally protected* against removal.
This also ratchets up the stakes in the "third-country" removal case, since many of these folks *can't* be sent home.
This also ratchets up the stakes in the "third-country" removal case, since many of these folks *can't* be sent home.
May 30, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Between this and the Venezuelan TPS ruling, #SCOTUS has now cleared the way for removing more than one million non-citizens who, until now, were *legally protected* against removal.
This also ratchets up the stakes in the "third-country" removal case, since many of these folks *can't* be sent home.
This also ratchets up the stakes in the "third-country" removal case, since many of these folks *can't* be sent home.
You've heard about the scale and variety of the ways Trump is inviting corruption and openly exploiting the presidency for personal gain. It's in the news all the time, but confronting it all in one place is staggering. open.substack.com/pub/brianbeu...
Pay Me
Trump is exploiting the Presidency with relentless consistency. Just look.
open.substack.com
May 30, 2025 at 1:39 PM
You've heard about the scale and variety of the ways Trump is inviting corruption and openly exploiting the presidency for personal gain. It's in the news all the time, but confronting it all in one place is staggering. open.substack.com/pub/brianbeu...
From me, in Off Message: The GAO concluded Trump's killing of the federal EV charger program was a no-brainer illegal impoundment. Now the US has months, not years, to undo the damage to workers and industry. Even if courts reverse it, it's probably too late open.substack.com/pub/brianbeu...
Charging Into Oblivion
This time, the electric car can't be killed. But American workers' chance to benefit from it can be, and a lot of them are Trump voters.
open.substack.com
May 28, 2025 at 1:56 PM
From me, in Off Message: The GAO concluded Trump's killing of the federal EV charger program was a no-brainer illegal impoundment. Now the US has months, not years, to undo the damage to workers and industry. Even if courts reverse it, it's probably too late open.substack.com/pub/brianbeu...
Memory holed: 2 mos ago RFK forced out Dr Peter Marks, FDA’s head of vaccine review & regulation. Marks said: “It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.” amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/03/...
May 27, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Memory holed: 2 mos ago RFK forced out Dr Peter Marks, FDA’s head of vaccine review & regulation. Marks said: “It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.” amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/03/...
May 27, 2025 at 4:41 PM
New from me, guesting on @brianbeutler.bsky.social's Off Message: RFK Jr. and Trump officials are embracing strategic ambiguity to balance anti-vaccine propaganda with responsible-sounding public health policy. That balance doesn't exist. open.substack.com/pub/brianbeu...
Strategic Ambiguity, Preventable Misery
RFK Jr. has Trump Administration officials cosplaying "pro-science" while staying true to his anti-vax roots. The result will be more disease.
open.substack.com
May 27, 2025 at 1:22 PM
New from me, guesting on @brianbeutler.bsky.social's Off Message: RFK Jr. and Trump officials are embracing strategic ambiguity to balance anti-vaccine propaganda with responsible-sounding public health policy. That balance doesn't exist. open.substack.com/pub/brianbeu...
“They didn’t let me talk to my attorneys...they didn’t let me talk to my wife.”
“They just nabbed me and disappeared me. My body was chained, shackled, treating my like an animal.”
“They just nabbed me and disappeared me. My body was chained, shackled, treating my like an animal.”
EXCLUSIVE: In their first broadcast interview since his release from ICE detention, Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri and his wife, Mapheze Saleh, spoke to @lbarronlopez.bsky.social
about Khan Suri's release after nearly two months in a detention facility in Texas. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e4X...
about Khan Suri's release after nearly two months in a detention facility in Texas. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e4X...
WATCH: Georgetown scholar says he was 'chained, shackled' in ICE detention
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
www.youtube.com
May 23, 2025 at 9:44 PM
“They didn’t let me talk to my attorneys...they didn’t let me talk to my wife.”
“They just nabbed me and disappeared me. My body was chained, shackled, treating my like an animal.”
“They just nabbed me and disappeared me. My body was chained, shackled, treating my like an animal.”
Reposted by Todd Zwillich
EXCLUSIVE: In their first broadcast interview since his release from ICE detention, Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri and his wife, Mapheze Saleh, spoke to @lbarronlopez.bsky.social
about Khan Suri's release after nearly two months in a detention facility in Texas. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e4X...
about Khan Suri's release after nearly two months in a detention facility in Texas. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e4X...
WATCH: Georgetown scholar says he was 'chained, shackled' in ICE detention
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
www.youtube.com
May 22, 2025 at 10:49 PM
EXCLUSIVE: In their first broadcast interview since his release from ICE detention, Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri and his wife, Mapheze Saleh, spoke to @lbarronlopez.bsky.social
about Khan Suri's release after nearly two months in a detention facility in Texas. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e4X...
about Khan Suri's release after nearly two months in a detention facility in Texas. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e4X...
Reposted by Todd Zwillich
“chicago pope” is one of the shows jack donaghy greenlit when he was tanking nbc
May 8, 2025 at 5:29 PM
“chicago pope” is one of the shows jack donaghy greenlit when he was tanking nbc
“TeleMessage is largely unknown and untested among cyber experts. NBC News asked five cybersecurity experts about Telemessage. Each said they had not heard of it before learning about Waltz’s apparent use of it Thursday.”
I've been traveling so forgive me for not posting this yesterday, but: That Signal clone app for archiving messages that Mike Waltz has been using, TeleMessage? It's unlicensed. Signal was unaware of its existence until they saw it in that Reuters photo. There's no known security vetting.
Photo appears to show Mike Waltz using Signal-like app that can archive messages
More than a month after he drew criticism for using Signal to discuss an impending military attack, Waltz was seen using what appears to be a different messaging app to message others in the Trump adm...
www.nbcnews.com
May 3, 2025 at 5:28 PM
“TeleMessage is largely unknown and untested among cyber experts. NBC News asked five cybersecurity experts about Telemessage. Each said they had not heard of it before learning about Waltz’s apparent use of it Thursday.”
Reposted by Todd Zwillich
An international trucking logistics firm is buying as much as *** $20 MILLION *** worth of President Donald Trump’s crypto coins to influence the administration’s trade policy.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Company Boasts Spending Up To $20 Million On Trump Crypto Coin To Buy Influence
The arrangement puts money in Trump’s pocket in return for the opportunity to change policy — exactly the sort of pay-to-play scheme critics warned about.
www.huffpost.com
May 3, 2025 at 1:03 PM
An international trucking logistics firm is buying as much as *** $20 MILLION *** worth of President Donald Trump’s crypto coins to influence the administration’s trade policy.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...